South Dakota Marijuana Activists Turn In More Than Enough Signatures For 2020 Ballot Questions

South Dakota Marijuana Activists Turn In More Than Enough Signatures For 2020 Ballot Questions
South Dakota residents will likely get the chance to vote on two different marijuana initiatives during next year’s election. On Monday, advocates submitted more than 50,000 signatures for a proposed constitutional ballot measure to legalize cannabis for adult use, which is being sponsored by a former federal prosecutor, and more than 30,000 signatures for a separate statutory initiative seeking to establish a medical marijuana program in the state. The South Dakota secretary of state will now review the signatures. Constitutional initiatives require 33,921 valid signatures, while statutory measures need 16,961, so the reform campaigns collected significantly more than needed, bolstering the chances that they will qualify for the 2020 ballot even if a sizable portion end up getting thrown out. Both measures are being backed by national advocacy groups Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and New Approach PAC. MPP is involved in multiple ballot campaigns to change cannabis laws at the state level in 2020, including in Mississippi, Montana and Nebraska. “Across the country, voters are recognizing that it makes no sense to waste law enforcement resources on arresting adults for marijuana possession, and that it also makes no sense to force marijuana sales into an unregulated illicit market,” MPP Deputy…